Looking back -

December 31, 2011. Can it already be the last day of 2011? I remember when I was really little, waiting for my birthday to come around each year, and it just seemed to drag on and on. Now this time around I barely had time to blink ~ here comes the new year, just around the bend. Time sure flies.

For the Riefer family, this has been a year of change. 

Was it just last year that Mama was so sick and in bed nearly all the time? We praise Him for giving her back her strength - it's incredibly cool to joke around with my mom again. To see her go places, to teach us again. What a blessing to have Mom back again.

We've had the joy of our brother-in-law Joel this year, as he and Ash recently celebrated their first year of marriage. Joel has been such a great addition to our crazy family and we love him to pieces. We see more and more how perfectly God matched him and Ash together, and we are so thankful for him.

Josh started college in the fall! We're so happy to still have him so close by and able to see him quite often. He did wonderfully first semester and we're so thankful for the many ways the Lord has guided him there.

This year we became a family of Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles. :) We're finding Evan to be the center of everything already, and we are truly grateful for his precious life. We are so excited to spoil this kid in the new year and watch him grow each day.

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So many blessings. It's been a hard, busy, crazy year, but so 'chock-full' of  many laughs, memories, and blessings. There are always changes, but God is always the constant. We rejoice in Him today, and look forward to where He leads us in the new year to come.

Happy New Year!